Being Together in Music

Thoughts From a Philosophy Cafe Dialogue

Abstract

In this paper shares and discusses questions that arose from music therapy sessions with an adolescent with severe multiple disabilities, with people not directly involved in the case. In the early sessions with this client, I wondered, “How can I make music with this client?” I intuitively felt that this question was not confined to the dyadic relationship between the client and myself as therapist, but was connected to the larger social structure and the various values and relationships within it. To share this question with those not directly involved in the case, I organized a small dialogue event using the Philosophy Cafe method. Through this, participants got a taste of each other's differing views and discovered new viewpoints together, thus enabling them to create a shared image of the word. This could serve as an example of how clinical music therapy practice can connect with the community surrounding it, and open up the case to society. Such dialogue also enables careful examination of the words and concepts used in the field of music therapy. This could lead to a review of the use of these words and concepts which had been developed from a modern, Western-centric perspective.